Chapter 284: A Screaming Puzzle

I took deep breaths in both bodies as I analyzed both my opponent and my surroundings. The day had finally come, and though I had prepared myself for this, it still caught me off guard with just how loud the crowd truly was.

Thousands of spectators encircled us, with each of their cheers and whispers echoing all throughout the arena walls, right into my ears; it was almost painful to be in. Though I wasn’t sure if that was from Carine’s ears or Feyt’s.

I needed all the focus I could get if I ever wanted to do my technique and listen to Marina’s muscles and breathing.

And so, to increase my focus, but also to prevent cheating, I closed Carine’s eyes up on the stands and leaned back.

Alright, hope that’s enough.

"Three!"

The announcer’s voice boomed through the arena as the crowd’s cheers grew louder.

"Two!"

Across the sand, Marina dropped her angle. That massive slab of wood was staring at me right in the eyes. It looked less like a sparring weapon and more like something designed to break bones, doing nothing to soothe my nerves.

"One... Begin!!"

We both surged forward the moment the word left his mouth.

I closed the distance fast, straining my ears with great effort to filter out the stadium's roar and lock onto Marina.

Marina closed in, took a sharp breath, and I braced myself to catch any hints of her next move. I thought it would be an easy task to hear her muscles, even through all this noise, considering how much strength was needed to lift her weapon.

But instead, what I heard was…

Screaming.

Not from the crowd, but from her.

Every single muscle in her chest, arms, and thighs… they were all screaming at me all at once.

What the hell?!

In a panic, I cancelled my offensive and dove to the side, avoiding her strike that landed right on the spot where I was moments ago. A cloud of sand kicked up, and when it cleared, Marina was already pacing her way towards me.

What in the world was that?

I couldn’t deduce a single thing from her muscles. The way it screamed, it was as if she was exerting every part of her body all at once. Any clues on where she was aiming or what she was going to do next were easily drowned out by her other muscles.

Throw in thousands of screaming, whistling spectators slamming into my eardrums at the exact same moment, and my ears were just one decibel away from being fried.

Marina rushed forward once more, and I tried to listen in to anything… Anything that might give me a clue where she was aiming.

Her torso, her arms, her neck. But both her muscles and the crowd overpowered any sound I could use as a cue.

Before I knew it, she was right in front of me, her body screaming at my ears as she let momentum carry her sword. I barely ducked under her horizontal strike and quickly backed off. I didn’t want to risk a counterattack with her body in that state.

At first, I thought this was a tactic designed specifically to go against me. But one, that wouldn’t make sense since no one but me should know Feyt was able to do this. And two, there was a far more logical explanation.

Unlike the weapons I typically sparred against, such as swords, spears, et cetera. A heavy weapon like hers was less of an extension of a person’s body, and more pure physics. Or, in other words, gravity and momentum were the star players in her style, and her job with her body was just to generate that momentum.

To swing that slab of wood, she needed her every muscle to work in unison. She couldn’t just rely on her limbs alone, nor could she be in a “relaxed” state before an attack. That was the source of the screaming I kept hearing. She was in full tension mode the whole time.

Even though that screaming I kept hearing told me when she was attacking… it didn’t tell me where she would attack, nor how.

Normally, swinging something that heavy leaves a huge opening if you miss. But Marina didn't try to fight the momentum after a swing; instead, she rode it, letting it carry her right into a defensive posture or into a follow-up strike.

But that doesn’t change that she was swinging basically a tree trunk. She’s burning through her stamina for these heavy bursts. So I decided that I would just drag this out, let her tire herself out, and pick her apart.

With my game plan set, the match continued.

I ducked, dodged, and leaped through my footwork to avoid getting pinned against her slab of wood and the wall.

Ten seconds passed. Twenty seconds. Then half a minute passed by of non-stop violence.

Through it all, one thing became clear to me.

She wasn't slowing down. Like, at all.

She was keeping up her pace with ease. [Enhanced Stamina] or something of the sort must be at play here for that to happen. I clearly chose the wrong opponent for a battle of attrition.

There wasn’t anything to learn from her breathing style either. She would sometimes take one deep breath before a series of attacks, and sometimes she wouldn’t even breathe. Her lung control was absurd.

My legs were starting to burn, my ears were ringing from the chaotic mix of sounds.

Then, I made a stupid mistake.

My heel caught the edge of a shallow crater Marina had carved into the sand a few seconds earlier as I backed away. My balance faltered for a moment, which, in a high-paced battle, is basically a death sentence.

Marina’s one visible eye locked onto me; it shone as it saw its opportunity. She planted her back foot and pivoted into a brutal, overhead cleave. The wind pressure alone already told my ears that I was a goner.

I managed to regain my balance, but… I couldn’t sense any openings. I tried to read her muscle tension to figure out which way she was angling the strike, but all I got was that same deafening, screaming noise.

I couldn't read it. I was about to get flattened in round one, almost literally.

I panicked.

Without thinking, and through sheer survival instinct, Carine opened her eyes.

In an instant, I carved out a line from Marina’s blade, the ground around us, found the perfect path… and took it.

I ducked hard to the right, sliding right under the dead zone of her swing, her sword barely missing my hair. Her broadsword slammed uselessly into the sand, and before she could recover her balance, I drove Feyt’s wooden sword straight into her ribs.

The impact knocked the wind right out of her, breaking her grip and sending her stumbling sideways before coming to a stop, holding her side in shock. Her broadsword dropped with a heavy thud just a step away from me.

"A decisive counter!" the announcer yelled through the artifact. "First point goes to Feyt of Class A!"

The crowd went completely wild.

Different kinds of comments and cheers began flowing in, from friends cheering, bettors roaring, or the talent scouts giving mumbled comments. But none of them would enter my focus.

Down in the ring, I stood there catching my breath, holding my sword firmly while Marina slowly got back up, rolling her shoulder.

I won the round. But as the adrenaline wore off and Feyt’s hands stopped shaking, a pretty miserable feeling settled in.

I cheated.

Down on the sand, Marina didn't throw a fit or glare at me like a sore loser. She just stood there for a second, rubbed her ribs where I hit her, and let out a slow breath. Then she cracked her neck and gave it a roll before facing me once more.

"Nice eye," she said, her voice slightly chirpier than I expected. "Even I didn’t see that blind spot coming. How did you do that, if you don’t mind me asking?"

"Ah... haha..." I offered a painfully awkward laugh, scratching the back of my neck. "Yeah... just a lucky guess?"

I chuckled like an idiot.

Marina gave me a long, unblinking stare that made me uncomfortable, wondering if she saw through it. She didn't say anything else, though, as she picked up her weapon and turned around to walk back to her side of the ring for round two.

Meanwhile, I was screaming at myselves.

What am I? A hack?!

I thought I entered the arena to get stronger, not to cheat myselves out of it?!

And here I thought I was done with shallow victories.

It felt ridiculous. If I kept leaning on Carine's eyes every time Feyt was in a corner, I wasn't actually going to get better. Even if it was done by accident, I should’ve taken that loss as a lesson.

No more eagle-eye perspective. If I lost, I would do it fair and square.

And so, I took action.

I shut Carine’s eyes, and I shut them hard. Squeezed them shut so tight my brows trembled.

And, to make sure I wouldn’t open her eyes out of instinct again, I reached down and grabbed an elegant blue silk fan. It was the same fan Mirabelle had gifted me on my birthday, and it was a shame that my first time using it… would be as a temporary blindfold.

“H-Huh?” Lionne mumbled. “Lady Carine, what are you—?”

"Contestants, take your positions for Round Two!"

The crowd roared loudly once more, shaking the building with their voices alone.

I raised my sword and eyes towards Marina, purely as Feyt. She now wore a slight, faint smile as she readied her stance. But I mustn’t let that distract me.

I shouldn’t see her as a threat. Instead, she was a puzzle I must solve. A puzzle Feyt must solve.

And solve her I must.